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US President Donald Trump signaled on Monday that he was ready to impose fresh tariffs on agricultural imports, targeting Indian rice and Canadian fertilizer.
The comments came as he met with American farmers who complained that cheap foreign goods were undercutting their crops and pushing down domestic prices.
Trump made the remarks while unveiling a $12 billion aid package intended to help US farmers struggling with rising costs and disrupted markets due to his broader trade disputes.
At the White House meeting, farmers pressed the president to adopt a tougher stance on imports they believe are illegally subsidized. Meryl Kennedy, the chief executive of Louisiana-based Kennedy Rice Mill, identified India, Thailand, and China as key countries "dumping" low-priced rice into the American market, a practice that is severely hurting growers in the South.
Kennedy noted that Chinese shipments were even displacing US rice sales in Puerto Rico, a market the US has traditionally dominated. "The tariffs are working, but we need to double down," Kennedy told Trump, who agreed quickly and said tariffs would follow, saying of the alleged dumping, "They're cheating." Trump also hinted that fertilizer imported from Canada could face "very severe duties" next, a move aimed at encouraging more US domestic production.
Trump new threats of tariffs come at a very sensitive time for US-India trade relations. A high-level US delegation, led by Deputy USTR Rick Switzer, is expected to travel to India as part of the resumption of trade talks this week, with meetings on December 10 and 11.
The two countries are racing to complete the first phase of a proposed BTA. India's chief negotiator, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, remains hopeful that an initial agreement may be concluded by the end of the year. But the president's latest comments on rice "dumping" have dampened expectations for a swift breakthrough from the talks.
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The President announced the $12 billion farm aid package to provide certainty for farmers who have faced financial pressure, particularly from retaliatory tariffs imposed by countries like China in the ongoing trade war.
Trump reassured the farmers that the funds for such extra aid would come from the income of the current US tariffs, thereby reinforcing his approach of using tariffs to safeguard US industries and as a source of funding for those hurt by trade battles.
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